


Bingo - Team As Family

by tillyenna



Series: Tilly's Hockey Bingo [2]
Category: Men's Hockey RPF
Genre: Angst and Feels, M/M, Platonic Cuddling, Platonic Male/Male Relationships, Retirement, Team as Family
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-11
Updated: 2021-03-11
Packaged: 2021-03-18 17:15:02
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,540
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29986179
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tillyenna/pseuds/tillyenna
Summary: For my bingo prompt "Team As Family", Patrick and Duncan discussing Brent's retirement and Jonny's illness.Contains hockey players disregarding covid protocol.
Relationships: Background Patrick Kane/Jonathan Toews, Patrick Kane & Duncan Keith, background Duncan Keith & Brent Seabrook
Series: Tilly's Hockey Bingo [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2199192
Comments: 17
Kudos: 63





	Bingo - Team As Family

**Author's Note:**

> thanks to [Otterly](https://archiveofourown.org/users/wildfoot/profile) for the beta and re-assuring me that I'm not quite as terrible at grammar as I think I am. All errors are mine however.

Patrick gets up at the knock on his hotel room door. He shouldn’t, because they’re not supposed to have each other in their hotel rooms, but for all he knows it’s one of the rookies, and they’re so fucking young, and without Jonny with them, he’s the closest thing to team dad they have. To his surprise however, it’s not one of the rookies, but Duncs, stood there in his sleep pants, shirtless, hair a tangled mess and a slightly sheepish look on his face.

“Everything ok Duncsy?” Patricks asks softly.

Duncs nods, and then slowly shakes his head, “Can I come in?”

Patrick nods, and steps to one side; it’s not like Duncs is going to rat on him, and it’s not like they’ll make enough noise that anyone else will notice. He watches as Duncs walks into the room and without saying a word, climbs into Patrick’s bed.

“You’re staying the night then?” Patrick teases with a raised eyebrow, climbing back into bed on the other side.

“Sorry,” Duncs winces, he’s flat on his back, staring up at the ceiling. “Usually,” he says, and his voice sounds choked, almost painful, “When it’s bad, Biscuit and I bunk up together,” he sighs, and then carries on “Bad bad,” he taps his chest to emphasise.

Patrick might not be fluent in D-man, but he understands enough to know that Duncsy means emotionally bad.

Duncs doesn’t look at Patrick as he admits, “It’s bad right now.”

Patrick sighs, because in all honesty, he’s shit at this bit, this is the bit that Jonny is great at; this is where Jonny excels, Patrick looks after people when the going is good, and Jonny is there for them when the going is tough. “I miss him too,” he admits.

“I was thinking about that,” Duncs props himself up on one elbow, “Which is why I’m here, because I spend every night on the road these days mad that I’m not bunked up with Biscuit, and you’re probably thinking the same thing about Taze,” he shrugs, “So I figure we could… y’know, sub in for each other.”

Patrick’s initial response must be visible on his face, and only half of it is surprise at Duncs linking together a sentence that long.

“Ew no!” Duncs laughs at him, “I don’t mean in the way you and Taze are, I mean more in the way that Seabsie and I are.”

Patrick shakes his head and thunks back down onto the pillow, “I’ll follow your lead then Jigs,” it’s been a while since he called Duncs that, it’s been a while since anyone did, but it feels right.

“It’s just cuddles,” Duncs tells him, wrapping an arm around Patrick and pulling him close, “No dick stuff.”

Patrick huffs out a laugh but lets himself relax into Duncs arms anyway. “Good,” he says dryly, “Because as nice as your flow may be these days, you’re not a patch on Jonny.”

“Keep telling yourself that,” Duncsy chirps back, but there’s no heat in it.

Patrick reaches out to flick the lights off, and for a moment, they lie there, in darkness, in silence.

“He’s telling the media when we get back from this trip,” Duncs says quietly.

“Yeah?” Patrick knows exactly what he’s talking about, the four of them have been talking it over since before Christmas, Seabs, Duncs, Jonny, and himself.

“Yeah,” there’s regret in Duncs’ voice, so much sadness. “I just…” he starts, and Patrick can hear his voice cracking and wonders if this is why he’d waited until the lights were off, so Patrick wouldn’t be able to see the pain on his face, “I’m so fucking angry with him.”

“I know,” Patrick sighs, thinking not of Brent but of Jonny.

“I know I shouldn’t be, and he’s making the right decision; fuck he’s making the only decision he can, but he’s supposed to be here with me, and I’m not done yet Peeks, I’m not, but we were supposed to go out together, not like this,” He’s sniffling into Patrick’s hair, but Patrick can’t bring himself to care.

“I know,” Patrick repeats, because there’s nothing else he can say.

“That’s why I came here,” Duncs admits, “Because I knew you’d get it.”

“Sometimes,” Patrick admits, “I wonder if it would be easier on Jon if I just told him to retire, if I told him I didn’t care whether he came back on the ice with us.”

Duncs snorts behind him, “He’d see right through you Peeks, there’s no way you could make that convincing.”

Patrick huffs softly, and for a moment they lie there, just the warmth from each other making the pain a little bit easier to bear.

“And then there’s the other thing,” Duncs adds softly.

“The other thing?”

Patrick can feel Duncs shift as he shrugs, “I mean…” he’s whispering now, like this is something he’s terrified to admit, “How the hell do I still love hockey, when it’s hockey that’s done this to my Seabs?”

“Oh Duncs,” Patrick twists in his arms so they’re face to face, reaching out to brush Duncan’s hair back from his eyes, it’s perhaps too familiar a gesture for a teammate, but it feels right. They’ve never been particularly close in the past, not the way Patrick was with Sharpy, or Jonny was with Seabs, but now, with only the two of them left, it’s like they’re clinging to each other to remain on this life raft while the team sinks around them. “Hockey didn’t do this to Seabs.”

Duncs snorts, “He sure as fuck wouldn’t be in this much pain if he waited tables.”

“Duncs,” Patrick says reproachfully, “I know it’s hard to hear, because I hate hearing it about Jon, but I have to tell you anyway,” he’s always known that whilst Duncs and Seabs have an entirely platonic relationship, the love they have for each other is every bit as strong as the love that Patrick and Jonny share, “Hockey didn’t do this to Seabs, he did it to himself.”

“You can’t…” Duncs starts, but Patrick cuts him off by slamming his hand over his mouth.

“Listen to me,” he says, pressing their foreheads together for just a moment, “Because it’s important. Seabsie did this to himself every time he lied, and told the trainers he was fine, every time he lied and said he’d be alright for just one more shift and sure maybe he was lying to himself as much as he was lying to anyone else, but you can’t blame the game for that.”

When Patrick pulls his hand away, Duncs lets out a broken sob, “But I can’t,” he moans, “I can’t hate Seabs.”

“I’m not suggesting you do,” Patrick sighs, “Because even though you really want to blame someone, anyone, right now, there’s no-one to blame, it just… is,” he trails off lamely. It’s something it’s taken him far too long to come to terms with himself. During the worst years of Jonny’s concussions he’d been so angry, at Jonny, at hockey, at the medical staff, and their coaches, at anyone and everyone he could be, hell, at himself, but in the end, he’d come to realise that blaming people and getting angry didn’t get him anywhere.

“I just want him back,” Duncs admits, “We were supposed to go out together.”

“I know,” Patrick says, and then a sudden thought seizes him, “But don’t you dare. Don’t you dare quit just because he’s done.” He finds himself gripping Duncs by the biceps, as if he can force him to stay.

“I won’t,” Duncs promises.

“Good,” Patrick lets himself relax minutely, “Because whilst I’ve come to accept that I’m going to be playing long after you fuckers all leave me, I’m not quite ready for that yet.”

“Jonny’s coming back,” Duncs says with a frown.

“Hopefully,” Patrick admits, because yes, they’ve discussed the possibility that this might be it for Jonny, and though neither of them want that, it’s easier for him if he recognises it as a possibility, so it doesn’t blindside him if it turns out to be the truth. “But we’ve no timeline on Jonny, and I swear to you Duncs, if you leave me with these kids.”

Duncs grumbles, “I won’t leave you with the kids.”

“They’re at least half your kids anyway,” Patrick smirks.

“If Seabsie’s retiring that means I can get him to come and babysit the rookies so I can get some actual skating in right?” Duncs mutters sarcastically.

“You love them,” Patrick noses at Duncs’ cheek, before letting himself be pulled into Duncs’ chest.

“Maybe,” Duncs admits and then quietly, “You on the other hand? Always.”

“We’re team,” Patrick admits, although it feels wrong, because technically the kids are team too, but Duncs is more than that, in the way that Jon, Seabs, Sharpy, Crow, all of them are more than team.

“Fuck that,” Duncs snorts, “We’re family.”

And that’s it, and it makes something settle in Patrick’s chest, because sure, Sharpy and Crow are retired, Seabs is days away from announcing it, Jonny’s out indefinitely, but being a family doesn’t require you to be on the same team. “Damn straight,” he agrees, relaxing even further into Duncs’ embrace, “Family.”


End file.
